1825.] 
tastrophe of the tale, which circulates in 
the neighbourhood of his ruined castle, 
attests the ignorance, or the love of the 
marvellous of those who invented and) cir- 
culated it;'still there is a dovetailing of 
the old Irish Shanaos with historie record, 
which shews: thats cela n’étoit pas vrai, 
© étoit bien vraisemblable :”? as if it would not 
have ‘heen just as easy to have said, ‘if it 
was not actually true, it bore very much 
the semblance of a truth.’ We beg leave 
to inform Lady Morgan that this mixture 
of languages gives an aria pedantesca to her 
writings; which is trés ridicule. 
‘Moderation. A Tale. By Mrs. Hor- 
LAND. - 12mo.—The works of this lady are 
well calculated for the perusal of youth, as 
affording amusement without overstraining 
the feelings and imagination by improbable 
events and exaggerated sentiment. There 
is a truth and simplicity in her delineation 
of character, which claims our sympathy 
and speaks home to our feelings. The 
present work is a good exemplification of 
these remarks, and the necessity and ad- 
vantage of ‘‘ Moderation’? are well en- 
forced. The story is simple and affecting, 
‘and the whole book breathes a sentiment 
of mild religious feeling, at the same time 
that it discountenances strongly those ex- 
travagant views of religion so prevalent 
at present among some classes of society. 
We think few works could be better cal- 
culated to be of use to the present state of 
society, and we trust it will be generally 
circwated. - 
Legends of the North, or the Feudal 
Christmas, a Poem. By Mrs. HENRY 
Rotts. 8vo.—This poem (or rather this 
volume of poems—for though strung toge- 
ther by a sort of narrative of Christmas 
festivities, &c. there are several) is dedi- 
cated by Mrs. R. to her brother, Sir W. 
Hillary, Bart., who, we are told 
——— ‘* Oft beside the cheerful flame 
Has listen’d, with unwearied ear,” &c. 
which, im so near a relative, is natural 
enough. But will impartial criticism listen 
with equal complacency? Mrs. R. takes 
eare to remind us that the experiment has 
been tried: for she strings the names of 
her former works together on her title- 
page, and tells us, in her preface, that they 
have met with an “indulgent reception.’ 
With ‘us, ‘however, ‘ every tub,” accord- 
ing ‘to’ the homely proverb, “ must stand 
bd its own bottom.” We must neither 
be influenced by the. indulgence of former 
ions, nor by the consideration that 
the authoress is the sister of a Baronet. The 
praise, if praise we give, must he. founded 
on the merits of the work itself; and, if 
Dabcedaie sus ‘defects, we shall: have the 
consolation of reflecting, ‘that justifiable 
censure need not ta Tes rained by any ap- 
: ste that, by ishing the fame of 
re) we i Ht also diminish. her 
Swill tat “Mrs. ‘R., therefore, 
Domestic and Foreign. 
157 
that we did stumble, in the very first line 
of her dedicatory address, upon the yery 
worst fault (barring downright mionsensé) 
that a first line can have, namely, ancer- 
tainty in its rhythm: for the line’ can be 
read either in triple or in) common’ mea- 
sure. Its natural tendency is sauelt more 
strongly to the former— 
“© Q [ thou, who in | youth's earliest | hours | 4 
But such is not the measure of the ensu-~ 
ing lines ; and yet it is only by the utmost 
licence of rhythmical variety that it can be 
reconciled to common metre : 
‘© O | thou, | who in | youth’s | earliest | hours.” 
And though the occasional admixture of 
such varieties of pause and emphasis be not 
only admissible, but, when judiciously ma- 
naged, graceful ; yet surely the commence- 
ment of every poem. should give the reader 
some indication of the measure in which it 
is intended to be read. ‘The first pages 
however, of the poem itself, satisfied us 
that want of ear for the melody of verse, 
was no prominent defect of Mrs. R.’s. 
During twenty lines, we thought that we 
were listening to a happy imitation of the 
manner of Sir Walter Scott: but we had 
soon reason to suspect that the very adop- 
tion of a style (notwithstanding some hap- 
py imitations to the ear) uncongenial to 
the native caste of the writer’s mind, .was 
betraying her into faults of a more. serious 
description—such as false metaphors, ill- 
chosen words (fitted to the rhythmus, not 
the sense), and unnecessary dilations of 
phraseology. 
** Nappa’s fair and ancient hall 
Where nightly pass’d the cheerful ball,” 
Passing is surely a strangely feeble verb 
for describing the motions or the gaiety of 
the dance. Then, anon, 
“The golden goblet burnish’d bright, 
The /amps and torches waving light, 
The pledge, the laugh, the sportive jest, 
Are past, and ended is the feast.” 
What is the meaning of lamps and torches 
being past 2 They may. pass us in a pro- 
cession: but this is not the meaning meant 
to be conveyed. The goblet may also be 
said to be past, or pass’d; but in a very 
different sense to that which is aimed at. 
A few lines further on, the lance shines the: 
shield. We know that the fair authoress 
would tell us this is not what she means ; 
but it is what grammatically she expresses, 
when she says 
*« The polish’d lance returns the rays, 
Or shines the shield with broader blaze.” 
Then, for cireumlocution— 
« Whilst youthful beauty, soft and fair, 
« Displays the simply braided hair, 
Or the pure pearl’s mild soften’d glow, 
Scarce fairer than the brow of snow.” 
In plain prose, what more is said in 
these’ four lines than that “’ Youthful 
beauty a simply braided hair, or 
~ pearls 
